Horizons Enhanced Income Gold Producers ETF - HEP

ETF Overview

The investment objective of HEP is to provide unitholders with:

exposure to the performance of an equal weighted portfolio of North American based gold mining and exploration companies
monthly distributions of dividend and call option income

Any foreign currency gains or losses as a result of HEP's investment in non-Canadian issuers will be hedged back to the Canadian dollar to the best of its ability.

HEP invests primarily in a portfolio of equity and equity related securities of North American companies that are primarily exposed to gold mining and exploration and that, as at each semi-annual rebalance date, are amongst the largest and most liquid issuers on the TSX in that sector.

HEP will rebalance, on an equal weight basis, the portfolio of constituent securities on each semi-annual rebalance date.

To mitigate downside risk and generate income, HEP will generally write covered call options on 100% of its portfolio securities. Covered call options provide a partial hedge against declines in the price of the securities on which they are written to the extent of the premiums received.

Active Management

This fund has an active management mandate ( A minority of ETFs have an active investment management mandate or a degree of active investment management. Full active management involves an investment manager actively managing the fund - deciding which securities to buy/sell, and when etc. However, many 'active' ETFs employ only partial active investment management, not full. ), not passive ( Most ETFs are passively managed - they have no active investment management. Passive ETFs simply try to replicate the returns of an index as closely as possible, such as the S&P/TSX 60 Index. ).

The fund's benchmark ( Most actively managed funds have a benchmark. The fund manager typically aims to exceed the performance of that benchmark. ) is:

Not defined

Key ETF Data

Fundamentals
Category (main)	Active North American Equity Income (large cap) and Covered Calls: Gold Producers Sector
Category (other)	Active Equity & Covered Call - Gold Producers Sector
Underlying Index	No Index
ETF Structure	Active management. No index
Asset Class	Equity (large cap) and Options (Covered Calls) - Gold Producers Sector
Region	North American
Issuer	Horizons ETFs (Canada)
ETF Home Page	Available here

Fund Facts
Inception Date	Apr 11, 2011
Total Holdings	Unknown
Distribution Frequency	Monthly
Leverage	None
Significant Currency Exposure	Yes
Currency Hedging	Yes

Fees
Management Fee	0.65%
Management Expense Ratio (MER)	0.80% *

* 2012, 2011 (0.87%)

Trading Information
Ticker	HEP
Exchange	TSX (Toronto Stock Exchange)
Currency	CAD

Eligibility
Eligibility *	RRSP, RRIF, RESP, TFSA, DPSP, RDSP
DRIP available **	Yes
PACC Plan available **	Yes
SWP available **	Yes

* Always check eligibility with your plan operator as plans and accounts can differ

** Not all brokers can facilitate these plans. Check with your broker.

Current Price, Fund Performance, Yield, NAV, Charts etc

To view the TSX or Morningstar fund page for this ETF click on the Fund Data menu tab or below:

ETF Analysis

Covered Call Strategy ETFs typically have a dual strategy: they try to replicate the returns of an index, and sell covered call options on some/all of their holdings.

The upside of selling covered call options is that the fund earns a premium for each option sold. The downside is that the upside potential of the ETF is limited due to the covered call option selling.

Before buying an ETF that uses a covered call strategy ensure you understand how such strategies work, and are comfortable with its advantages, risks and limitations.

Options are a somewhat complex financial instrument. They are relatively easy for some investors to understand, difficult for others. Since Covered Call Strategy ETFs use options, it would be wise to understand how they work before investing in any Covered Call Strategy ETFs.

Also understand the amount (if any) of Return of Capital the fund may pay out with distributions. ROC payments reduce your holding's capital.